Taking Chances (Learning to Love) (31 page)

"Oh, shut up. Go do a quick once over and see if we left anything behind."

"Okay." She hopped down off the truck and headed inside. She tossed her bag on the floor in the living room next to their makeshift beds for the night, and walked through the bare house. She thought about how much time she'd spent alone there but there was no trace they'd been there at all.

She didn't see anything left behind and headed out the front door in search of her dad. Joe set the motorcycle ramps on the tailgate of her truck and stood back to stare at them with pursed lips.

"Which should we load first? Mine takes up more room." He walked toward the bed of the truck with a measuring tape.

"Dad, we've done this a thousand times. It's really not rocket science. Yours always goes first."

"I was just trying to figure out if there was a better way to do it."

"If it aint broke, don't fix it." She rolled her eyes at him and walked toward the two bikes parked side by side in the garage.

"You ridin', or are we pushin'?" asked a behemoth of a man with the name
Phil
embroidered on his shirt as he walked toward Charlie and the bikes.

"She can ride it up. Hey, Charles, just ride her up and hold her steady while we strap her down." Joe walked to the side of the truck and waited to guide her up.

"I don't have any guys named Charles." He wrinkled his brow at Joe.

"I was talking to my daughter." Joe moved his jaw and gave Phil a annoyed look. She didn't know why he even named her Charlotte because he called her Charles, and everyone else called her Charlie.

"Uh, boss, are you sure she can handle that thing, that bike is huge?" He looked at her like he was sizing her up.

She stared him down and swung her leg over the seat. "Don't worry, Phil. My dick is bigger than yours. Let me show you ladies how this is done."

The engine started with a low rumble, and she and Joe exchanged a smile at the familiar sound. She rode his bike out of the garage and zipped past Phil into the street. She must have caught him by surprise, because he stumbled backward, and she couldn't help but laugh. After making a big turn, she rode it straight up the ramps, stopping about a foot from the cab of her truck.

"Ease her forward just a bit … little more … there. Kill it," Joe yelled.

Charlie killed the engine and held the monster steady so Joe and Phil could tie the bike down with straps. She couldn't wait to get on her bike. It'd been a few days since she'd had time to ride it.

"All right, kid, now let's do yours," Joe said, and ran his hands through his crew cut.

As she sat on her bike and ran her fingers over the red paint on the gas tank, she sighed. Her Ducati 848 was her pride and joy. Riding motorcycles was the one constant thing she and Joe always did together, no matter where they lived and she never let anyone touch it, let alone ride it, not even Joe.

"
Yours?
That's hers? No way a girl owns that bike. That's like the holy grail of sports bikes, if you ask me," Phil said, with envy.

"Well thankfully, no one asked you." She rolled her eyes and turned her key.

"Phil you shouldn't underestimate my daughter. She can out-ride, out-shoot, and out-eat any guy I know."

Her Ducati came to life with a zing and she decided to show him just what she could do. She braced herself and popped the front wheel up as she rode the wheelie down the street with a wicked grin on her face. She turned around in the cul-de-sac and raced back to her house. Phil just stood there with his mouth hung open.

"Are you done showing off? We need to get it loaded." Joe shook his head.

She rode up the ramp and pulled into the bed of the truck next to his Harley Davidson. Charlie jumped off the back of the truck and landed next to Phil.

"Okay, I'm sorry I misjudged you." Phil offered her his hand and she took it as a truce.

"Old pros," Joe said, and held his hand up for a high five. She crinkled her nose at him and shook her head no. Joe stood there and waited until she humored him and smacked his hand back.

"You really need to keep up with the times, old man. A cool handshake is better than a high five."

"Oh, shut up and go inside. I'm going to help them load the last few things and I'll be in."

"Whatever you say." She turned on her heel and walked up to the front door closing it behind her. Charlie kicked her boots off next to her air mattress and plopped down on it. She pulled her current book from the bag and cracked it open to where she'd left off. By the time she came back to reality, she'd lost all track of time and Joe was standing over her.

"You want your pizza cold or hot?" He popped open a beer and took a swig.

"'I'll go buck wild tonight. Warm it up."

"You got it." He put a few slices right on the oven racks. Normally she would have objected but she didn't care if it made a mess because she wouldn't be there to clean it later. After their food was ready, they ate and talked on their air mattresses until she couldn't keep her eyes open. She hadn't realized she even dozed off until her dad was shaking her.

***

"Time to get up, grumpy-ass. We gotta get movin'."

"Uhh, what time is it?" she croaked, and opened one eye to squint at him.

"0500."

She pulled the covers back over her head. "Uhhh… Wake me up later."

In one swift motion, he pulled the covers off of her and lifted the air mattress onto its side. She hit the floor with a thud.

"OW. What the hell?"

"Hey, look at that. Looks like you're up after all," he laughed, as he presented her with a large steaming cup of coffee and a fresh bagel.

"You're lucky you brought me food."

"Or what?"

"Just be happy you don't have to find out."

"Ooh, I'm shakin' in my boots." Her dad shook his hands and knees to mock her. "Besides, I knew bribing you with coffee would get you moving."

"Then why did you have to throw me five feet first?"

"It was more like two. I thought it would be funny, and it was." He caught the piece of bagel she threw at him in his mouth, and she laughed.

"Finish eating, and then we really need to get the rest put in the truck."

"Mm-k," she said, with her mouth stuffed so full she couldn't chew.

She scarfed down her food before she went into the bathroom to change and wash up. When she came out, he was outside and already had the mattresses deflated and folded up. She tossed her book back into her bag, folded all the blankets and stacked the pillows on top of them. Joe walked inside and they carried everything out to the backseat of her truck.

As they pulled away from Fort Sill, Oklahoma for hopefully the last time, Charlie didn't feel anything leaving, she'd never let herself get attached to anything enough to care. She read her book and listened to her iPod blast through her headphones. She didn't realize her dad was talking to her until he smacked the outside of her thigh with the back of his hand.

She pulled her headphones out of her ear and looked over at him. "Huh?"

"You know, it's a long ass drive, and you're hands down the
worst
traveling partner ever. You do realize it's your job to keep me awake and entertain me. You're even shittier as a travel buddy this time than you were last time. I didn't think that was even possible."

She gave him a haphazard smile. "Hey, at least I'm awake this time."

"Have you talked to Julian?"

"Yeah, we talked yesterday. I told him I'd text him when we were on our way."

"I'm glad you guys stayed as close as you have. He's a good kid."

"We were born best friends, distance will never change that. Speaking of which, how far is our house from his?"

"You'll see."

"Seriously? Just tell me where it is."

"You'll see." He gave her a small smile.

"Whatever."

"God, I hate that word," he said, and shook his head.

She rolled her eyes,
whatever.

***

They'd been on the road for hours and they were ready for the trip to be over. She read the last page of her book and closed it.

Joe smacked the side of her thigh. "You done with that thing already?"

"Yeah," she said, and yawned.

"Since you can't run away from me, I thought this would be a good time to talk about your trust." He glanced over at her.

She groaned, "Seriously. Why do you constantly bring this up? I don't want it."

"I don't understand why Charles. It's your money, you will be set for life. You have enough obstacles to face and this will take away a lot of stress later in life."

"Whatever, I can make it on my own without money from Satan and her slave."

Joe huffed, "God, you're so stubborn."

"Well I wonder where I learned that," she said, and rolled her eyes.

"Your mother."

Charlie cocked a brow at him. "I hope she strikes your ass with lightening for blaming her."

He chuckled. "Look kid, I don't know how to make this easy on you. If your mom was still here, she'd know exactly what to say and how to fix this."

"Well I'm pretty sure if she was still alive, her parents would have never given me a trust fund. Can we be done with this conversation?"

"For now," he said, with a sigh.

Annoyed, Charlie stared out the window and pulled out her phone to send Jules a message.

Her thumbs danced across the screen.
Hey, how goes it?

It goes. Where are you guys at?

The last sign said were 22 miles from Beaufort, SC

Did your dad tell you you're coming over for dinner tonight?

We are? Woot!

I know right. Mom has been cooking all fucking day. I'm banned from the kitchen. She threatened to cut me with her chopping knife if I came in there to steal food again. lol

Haha, I'd pay to see that. What time?

7 and you better come hungry.

K- see you in a bit, Asshole

Roger that, Butch.

Charlie slid her phone into her back pocket and raised an eyebrow at Joe. "So when were you planning on telling me we're going to dinner tonight? I thought we were going over for Christmas dinner?"

"Oh, shit. I forgot all about that. We are, but we're supposed to see them before that. Maybe we can reschedule for tomorrow. I'm tired, and we both smell foul. I'll call Callie to reschedule."

"I wouldn't suggest that. Jules said she's cooked enough for an army."

"Well looks like we're going to dinner then," he yawned.

"Buck up buttercup, it'll be worth it." They looked at each other and laughed.

******************************

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Acknowledgements

I originally wrote Taking Chances after my first book (Save Me) because I found myself wanting to have poor Andi and Will (and sometimes Dan too!) get naked and hop into bed, and I needed to write something a little more 'adult'. Then I set it aside and finished the first series. When I came back, it was like starting from scratch with the story and there was a lot of work to be done. And although I didn't have a lot of help, the help I did have was invaluable.

First of all, I'd like to thank the academy-- no wait, wrong speech. Okay, now I got it, Vanessa. I need to thank my BFF, Vanessa. Without her, I'm pretty sure I'd be locked in the puzzle house. Although, maybe I'd get more writing done there. I can always count on her to give me an honest opinion. Even when that opinion is that she wants to punch a character in the twat. Maybe especially then.

I also need to thank the awesome girls who read, commented, and pointed out all my mistakes over the course of editing this thing. Christy, Staci, Brandy, and Nicole, you guys rock. Without you guys, I would most certainly have numerous typos, bitchy characters, and people doing impossible things.

Props to the photographer, Mandy Hollis, for her amazing photos which will grace the cover of this book. She went above and beyond to make sure I got what I wanted, and I'm super happy with her work.

And as always, my family has been here through the whole thing. Usually off in a different room, or just behind me making entirely too much noise for me to focus, or kicking me off the computer mid-sentence, but I guess that's better than having them lost in the forest. A little. Luckily, I love them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

L J lives on the Jersey Shore with her husband, four kids, two cats, and an inherited dog from hell (a.k.a. the sewer gremlin). Though writing has always been her first passion, she got a degree in psychological counseling and worked in the mental health field for awhile, which she finds very helpful in dealing with her crazy family. She is a lover of all different types of music and books, switching between genres so wildly it sometimes makes people wonder if she has multiple personalities. She is most likely to be found writing romance stories of all kinds (contemporary, erotic, new adult, young adult, fantasy, paranormal, etc.). When she's not writing, she prefers to spend her time reading, taking photos, watching Doctor Who or Supernatural, or spending time with her family.